Jose Mourinho eyeing up return to management

It's been seven months since Jose Mourinho was sacked by Manchester United and it appears that the 56 year-old is now ready to return to football management.

The Special One has one of the most glittering CV's in the game, winning league titles in four different countries along with lifting the UEFA Champions League with two different clubs. So you'd expect him to have plenty of offers on the table, despite how his time at Manchester United ended.

His last season at Old Trafford ended up being disaster after disaster, with him unable to shake off the third season syndrome that seems to have followed him everywhere during his career. He's never lasted longer than that at any of his clubs which seems bizarre when you consider everything he's won. He pretty much guarantees short-term success, but he hasn't been able to do it long-term with any of his clubs as of yet.

He hasn't been involved in the coaching side of the game since leaving the Red Devils in December 2018, but has kept up appearances by featuring as a pundit for Middle East based broadcaster beIN SPORTS. This has seen him work on a number of high profile games which recently included the Champions League final between Liverpool and Tottenham, where he worked alongside former Arsenal boss and old nemesis Arsene Wenger.

But now after speaking to Eleven Sports, it appears that he's keen to leave the punditry behind and get back involved in the world of management. All his career has been based in club football but his recent comments indicate that he's prepared to step into new territory - international football.

“I want to compete in new competitions, I think about the World Cup and the European Championships.

“For a long time I have had the desire to try out such an adventure. Right now, I see myself more at a national team than with a new club."

After enduring that difficult final season in club football with Manchester United and winning pretty much every major honour available at club level, it'll perhaps come as a little surprise to many that he's looking to branch out into the international game.

Qualification for the upcoming European Championships has begun and you'd think that he'd love to manage Portugal. Not just is it his home nation, but he's worked with some of their key players in the past in Pepe and of course Cristiano Ronaldo, so if anyone can guide them to success it's him right? It makes sense, but in that interview he quashed those links, “Is Portugal the right team for me? Not necessarily."

Also, in Fernando Santos they have someone who's delivered two trophies (2016 Euros & 2019 Nations League) so it could be a while before that position becomes vacant. But big nations like Italy and Spain who're going through something of a transition at the moment could be potential destinations & his CV suggests he could successfully make the transition from club to international management.

This is a big change of tune from another recent interview he did with Eleven Sports in June, when he opened up the door for a return to club football.

“Winning a fifth championship in a different country or the Champions League with a third club are things I'd like to do. I wouldn't do it just for that. I only go where a project convinces me."

But with many elite clubs not currently in the market for new managers, it seems unlikely that he'll walk into a club job soon, despite him claiming he doesn't have to go somewhere where he'll "win". But we all know how passionate and driven Mourinho is, he'll want a move that provide him with the chance to deliver even more silverware and re-enforce his claim as one of the games greatest managers.

"I want to be happy, not necessarily win, I want to be happy and I don't want to accept a proposal without being convinced of it, that's what I've always thought.